Super Saver fizzles in Preakness two weeks after winning Kentucky Derby

BALTIMORE – It didn’t take trainer Todd Pletcher long to be reminded how humbling racing can be.

Two weeks after ending his 0-for-24 Kentucky Derby drought, Pletcher was a non-factor – again – in today’s Preakness Stakes. It was no surprise that Aikenite, a 30-1 shot, finished 10th in the 12-horse field.

But it was a major disappointment that stablemate and Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver, the 19-10 favorite, fizzled despite a good trip, finishing a tiring eighth.

“We were in a good spot,” Pletcher said of Super Saver, sitting second off pace-setting First Dude through the opening six furlongs. “He was able to move himself right outside of (First Dude). It looked like the colt was relaxed. He was traveling well down the backside but you could tell that when he went to the far turn he came up empty.”

Jockey Calvin Borel offered no excuses.

“My horse broke sharp, right where I wanted,” he said. “I let the other horse go and I was right behind him. He just wasn’t able to get there today. I will win a lot of other races with this horse. He’s a good one.”

Pletcher, now 0-for-6 in the Preakness, said he knew going into the turn that his horse was finished.

“You could see that Calvin was squeezing him and asking him to go get that horse (First Dude), and he just couldn’t do it,” he said. “He hung in there. He kept fighting. He tried hard. It was back a little quick for him. Now we’ve got time to come back for a big summer.”

Dublin, who took a right turn out of the gate from the outside post 12, lost all chance with his clumsy break. But the D. Wayne Lukas-trainee still rallied from last to finish a late-running fifth.

Dublin came close to the outside rail with his bad break, with Garrett Gomez having to cut across the track behind the field just to get to the other rail.

“The break compromised any chance we had, when he broke awkwardly like that,” Lukas said. “He ran a powerful race. He ran fifth and didn’t get beat that far.”

Gomez said he did what he could after the bad start.

“The first three jumps weren’t very good,” he said. “He tried to go into the gap and made a right-hand turn with me. When I straightened him out they were all gone and we were pretty much out of it.”

First Dude looked to be a horse who benefited from skipping the Kentucky Derby, going from a thrid-place finish in the Blue Grass Stakes to a game second in the Preakness. The horse is named for the husband of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

“First Dude is a serious, confident, aggressive horse who can compete with the best,” trainer Dale Romans said. “He ran super. (Jockey) Ramon (Dominguez) said he didn’t want to give up the lead. He kept his path. He couldn’t hold off the winner.”

Baffert is now tied with Lukas for second with most Preakness victories with five, trailing R. W. Walden, who won the race seven times between 1875-1888.